Intermittent shake

[losichu]

Having an interesting problem with the Ti now. The car does not shake until it hits about 75 mph, and the faster I go the worse it gets. The interesting part is that the shake is not 100% consistent in intensity. Its almost like a throbbing shake, as it were to lose intensity and regain it, kind of like a horse in a gallop, there is always that pause while the legs are all in the air. I have rebalanced the tires and that seems to help but the problem doesn't go away. Could this be bushings or tie rods or ball joints? I don't mind spending the money on the car I just don't want to be buying unnecessary parts. How do I check each of these components to see which one is the culprit? Car has 119k on it, so I have been contemplating the suspension upgrade for a while.

[losichu]

I should also mention that it doesn't happen when the road isn't straight. What I mean by that is when I am driving and the wheel is shaking if there is a curve in the road the car becomes perfectly smooth, so this wheel shake is really only when the road is straight. I'm guessing its the tie rods that are shot. Does the ti have some type of steering stabilizer?

[DueceMcCracken]

My ti is doing the same thing. My tie rod ends are shot. I'm going to install the freshies this weekend. I'll let you know how it turns out.

[b.u.ti-ful]

It might be your tires. If you rotate them after they are broken in too much you get problems.

Do you have any other wheels you can switch to for a test?

I had a little wobble problem that new struts and ball joints fixed, but it was not an intermittent problem - very consistent.

[DueceMcCracken]

I have Brand new tires all way round. Just mounted and balanced. My front end shakes bad when I'm going over 70mph and I start to turn either way. It's most likely my tie rods which are shot. Could be some ball joint issues though.

[ConMasta]

I had exactly the same situation as you described in the first post. I think it was because some parts of my swaybar mount had rusted out, you can see a picture of it in this post: http://www.318ti.org/forum/showthread.php?t=14000

After having a shop weld the mount back, then replacing both control arms, LCABs, and one bad tie-rod, the problem has gone away. However, if you keep driving so fast in that condition, you risk doing even more damage to your steering rack.

I would highly recommend staying under 75mph or whatever speed initiates the shaking until you can get it fixed

-Conan

[b.u.ti-ful]

Scary! After reading that I had to run out and look at my mounts - I am happy to say they look perfect. But, my 1996 only has 85,000 on it.

[ConMasta]

Yeah... my car has about 122k now, on a 98. I was actually considering suspension upgrades too, but as soon as the rust thing happened, Ive been having bad luck with the TI.... expensive repairs pending... so my temporary solution is this:



That way I still have a nice chill way to get to work, and whenever I have time on the weekends and my girlfriend lets me... I can work on restoring the ti

-Conan

[b.u.ti-ful]

Must be nice to be in Arizona!

My friends and I are itching to get the bikes out here in Wisconsin.

[666 toe]

I had exactly the same problem when i bought my ti.i took it to a garage and both my front ball joint's was fecked while they was getting replaced i also got them to replace the track control arm's.tis sweet now...

[anthonyl]

Originally Posted by b.u.ti-ful

Must be nice to be in Arizona!

My friends and I are itching to get the bikes out here in Wisconsin.

Every summer I want to get a bike. Maybe This summer will be the one.

[b.u.ti-ful]

My bike is the one in the middle. Taken at the BMW national rally in West Bend WI last summer.

Hey Anthony, if you are new to riding I recommend the Rider Saftey course - at the end of the classes you get your license and the knowledge could save your life too.

http://www.msf-usa.org/

[anthonyl]

Yeah I for sure will. where did you get your bike? I would like something like that.

[cooljess76]

Originally Posted by b.u.ti-ful

Hey Anthony, if you are new to riding I recommend the Rider Saftey course - at the end of the classes you get your license and the knowledge could save your life too.

http://www.msf-usa.org/

+1, don't forget the nice discount on insurance I only pay $97 a year with Geico. Nice bike b.u.ti-ful, here's mine:

[anthonyl]

Also a sweet bike. Thanks for that info